Assistance to the Commission on Technological Socio-Economic and Cost-Benefit Assessment Related to Exemptions from the Substance Restrictions in Electrical and Electronic Equipment: Study to assess renewal requests for 29 RoHS 2 Annex III exemptions [no. l(a to e -lighting purpose), no. l(f - special purpose), no. 2(a), no. 2(b)(3), no. 2(b)(4), no. 3, no. 4(a), no. 4(b), no. 4(c), no. 4(e), no. 4(f), no. 5(b), no. 6(a), no. 6(b), no. 6(c), no. 7(a), no. 7(c) - I, no. 7(c) - II, no. 7(c) - IV, no. 8(b), no. 9, no. 15, no. 18b, no. 21, no. 24, no. 29, no. 32, no. 34, no. 37] Carl-Otto Gensch, Oeko-Institut Yifaat Baron, Oeko-Institut Markus Blepp, Oeko-Institut Katja Moch, Oeko-Institut Susanne Moritz, Oeko-Institut Otmar Deubzer, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, IZM 07 June 2016 Report for The European Commission Prepared by Oeko-Institut e.V., Institute for Applied Ecology and Fraunhofer-Institut IZM for Environmental and Reliability Engineering Oeko-Institut e.V. Fraunhofer-Institut IZM Freiburg Head Office, P.O. Box 1771 Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25 79017 Freiburg, Germany 13355 Berlin, Germany Tel.:+49 (0) 761 – 4 52 95-0 Tel.: +49 (0)30 / 46403-157 Fax +49 (0) 761 – 4 52 95-288 Fax: +49 (0)30 / 46403-131 Web: www.oeko.de Web: www.fraunhofer.de Approved by: Adrian Gibbs, Eunomia Carl-Otto Gensch, Oeko Institute e.V (Peer Review) (Project Director) …………………………………………………. …………………………………………………. Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd 37 Queen Square, Bristol, BS1 4QS, UK Tel: +44 (0)117 9172250 Fax: +44 (0)8717 142942 Web: www.eunomia.co.uk Acknowledgements: We would like to express our gratitude towards stakeholders who have taken an active role in the contribution of information concerning the requests for exemption handled in the course of this project. Disclaimer: Eunomia Research & Consulting, Oeko-Institut and Fraunhofer Institute IZM have taken due care in the preparation of this report to ensure that all facts and analysis presented are as accurate as possible within the scope of the project. However no guarantee is provided in respect of the information presented, and Eunomia Research & Consulting, Oeko-Institut and Fraunhofer Institute IZM are not responsible for decisions or actions taken on the basis of the content of this report. ii Executive Summary Under Framework Contract no. ENV.C.2/FRA/2011/0020, a consortium led by Eunomia Research & Consulting was requested by DG Environment of the European Commission to provide technical and scientific support for the evaluation of exemption requests under the new RoHS 2 regime. The work has been undertaken by Oeko-Institut and Fraunhofer Institute IZM, and has been peer reviewed by Eunomia Research & Consulting. E.1.0 Background and Objectives The RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU entered into force on 21 July 2011 and led to the repeal of Directive 2002/95/EC on 3 January 2013. The Directive can be considered to have provided for two regimes under which exemptions could be considered, RoHS 1 (the former Directive 2002/95/EC) and RoHS 2 (the current Directive 2011/65/EU). · The scope covered by the Directive is now broader as it covers all EEE (as referred to in Articles 2(1) and 3(1)); · The former list of exemptions has been transformed in to Annex III and may be valid for all product categories according to the limitations listed in Article 5(2) of the Directive. Annex IV has been added and lists exemptions specific to categories 8 and 9; · The RoHS 2 Directive includes the provision that applications for exemptions have to be made in accordance with Annex V. However, even if a number of points are already listed therein, Article 5(8) provides that a harmonised format, as well as comprehensive guidance – taking the situation of SMEs into account – shall be adopted by the Commission; and · The procedure and criteria for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress have changed and now include some additional conditions and points to be considered. These are detailed below. The new Directive details the various criteria for the adaptation of its Annexes to scientific and technical progress. Article 5(1)(a) details the various criteria and issues that must be considered for justifying the addition of an exemption to Annexes III and IV: · The first criterion may be seen as a threshold criterion and cross-refers to the REACH Regulation (1907/2006/EC). An exemption may only be granted if it does not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by REACH; · Furthermore, a request for exemption must be found justifiable according to one of the following three conditions: Study to Assess RoHS Exemptions i o Substitution is scientifically or technically impracticable, meaning that a substitute material, or a substitute for the application in which the restricted substance is used, is yet to be discovered, developed and, in some cases, approved for use in the specific application; o The reliability of a substitute is not ensured, meaning that the probability that EEE using the substitute will perform the required function without failure for a period of time comparable to that of the application in which the original substance is included, is lower than for the application itself; o The negative environmental, health and consumer safety impacts of substitution outweigh the benefits thereof. · Once one of these conditions is fulfilled, the evaluation of exemptions, including an assessment of the duration needed, shall consider the availability of substitutes and the socio-economic impact of substitution, as well as adverse impacts on innovation, and life cycle analysis concerning the overall impacts of the exemption; and · A new aspect is that all exemptions now need to have an expiry date and that they can only be renewed upon submission of a new application. The current study presented here, evaluates a total of 29 exemption renewal requests for existing exemptions approaching their expiry date. E.2.0 Key Findings – Overview of the Evaluation Results The exemption requests covered in this project and the applicants concerned, as well as the final recommendations and proposed expiry dates are summarised in Table 1-1. The reader is referred to the corresponding section of this report for more details on the evaluation results. The – not legally binding – recommendations for the requests for the renewal of exemptions (29 RoHS 2 Annex III exemptions: no. l(a to e - lighting purpose), no. l(f - special purpose), no. 2(a), no. 2(b)(3), no. 2(b)(4), no. 3, no. 4(a), no. 4(b), no. 4(c), no. 4(e), no. 4(f), no. 5(b), no. 6(a), no. 6(b), no. 6(c), no. 7(a), no. 7(c) - I, no. 7(c) - II, no. 7(c) - IV, no. 8(b), no. 9, no. 15, no. 18b, no. 21, no. 24, no. 29, no. 32, no. 34, no. 37) were submitted to the EU Commission by Oeko-Institut and have already been published at the EU CIRCA website on 27 June 2016. So far, the Commission has not adopted any revision of the Annex to Directive 2011/65/EU based on these recommendations. ii Table 1 -1: Overview of the exemption requests, associated recommendations and expiry dates Exemption Wording: Applicant Recommendation: Proposed Duration Comments No. Main Entry Sub-Entry Proposed Exemption Wording Formulation n. 1 Mercury in single-capped (compact) Mercury in single-capped fluorescent lamps not exceeding (per (compact) fluorescent lamps burner): not exceeding (per burner) The maximum 1(a) For general transition period lighting purposes < 30 For Cat. 8 and Cat. 9: should be granted to W: 5 mg (a) For general lighting 21 July 2021; other categories 1(b) For general purposes < 30 W: 2.5 mg For Sub-Cat. 8 in-vitro: (18 months); lighting purposes ≥ 30 (b) For general lighting 21 July 2023; The COM should W and < 50 W: 5 mg purposes ≥ 30 W and < 50 NARVA Lichtquellen consider adopting 1(c) For general W: 3.5 mg For Sub-Cat. industrial: GmbH + Co. KG measures to limit lighting purposes ≥ 50 21 July 2024 LightingEurope product availability a to e W and < 150 W: 5 mg to B2B transactions. (lighting) 1(d) For general lighting purposes ≥ For Cat. 5: 21 July 150 W: 15 mg 2019; 1(e) For general (c) For general lighting For Cat. 8 and Cat. 9: lighting purposes with purposes ≥ 50 W and < 150 21 July 2021; circular or square W: 5 mg For Sub-Cat. 8 in-vitro: structural shape and (d) For general lighting 21 July 2023; tube diameter ≤ 17 purposes ≥ 150 W: 15 mg mm: 7 mg For Sub-Cat. 9 industrial: 21 July 2024 Study to Assess RoHS Exemptions iii Exemption Wording: Applicant Recommendation: Proposed Duration Comments No. Main Entry Sub-Entry Proposed Exemption Wording Formulation 7 mg may be used per burner until 31.12.2019, 5 mg may be used per burner (e) For general lighting after 31.12.2019 purposes with circular or For Cat. 5: 21 July 2019 square structural shape and For Cat. 8 and Cat. 9: tube diameter ≤ 17 mm 21 July 2021 For Sub- Cat. 8 in-vitro: 21 July 2023 For Sub-Cat. 9 industrial: 21 July 2024 Mercury in single-capped (compact) fluorescent lamps not exceeding (per burner) The maximum transition period NARVA Lichtquellen should be granted f (special 1(f) For special GmbH + Co. KG for other purpose) purposes: 5 mg LightingEurope applications and (f)-I For lamps designed to other categories (18 emit light in the ultra-violet For Cat.